Living life on the road is an American tradition. Many families even take time between jobs to cross the country and let their kids take in all the sights and sounds. This has been going on for decades. However, the older vehicles that were equipped to do this are rarely kept in good condition. This 1987 Dodge camper van is the exception and Doug DeMuro is going to give us the full tour.
If you grew up in the early 1990s, chances are you spent a little time in one of these... and probably hated it. But now, the idea of being stuck in a van for long hours is probably appealing. Let's see how much of that is nostalgia and if the features from three decades ago are any good.
The particular model is a Dodge Ram Van B250 and it's received the camper conversion from a company called Roadtrek. This particular model is called the Home & Park, and the beige and brown exterior look straight out of a Lampoon's Vacation movie. What is more "1980s", this or the Ramcharger?
The interior is even more of that era. Doug calls it a "brown explosion" which is a fair thing to say. There's velvety fabric and fake wood trim everywhere, enough to make a Wagoneer seem classy. By modern standards, none of this stuff looks safe. For example, they use regular kitchen hinges for overhead storage. Back in those days, not everything was seen as a fire or crash risk. Instead of warning stickers, the cabin has some nice ones from places the van has been.
The fact that this thing comes witch a kitchen shouldn't be surprising. Sink, gas-electric freezer, stove, and microwave - it has it all. However, we're shocked that everything is from the 1980s. If this were in a home, it would have long been gutted, but the Dodge van is in time capsule spec and we're thankful for that.
There's also a little toilet, right next to the kitchen, and a bed that you can sleep comfortably on... almost. When it comes to being behind the wheel, this is just like any Dodge product from the 1980s, only brown. Cheap plastics surround you, but the position behind the wheel is further forward because back then the engines were under the dash.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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